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| Summary: Should gambling be banned or severely restricted? Or should casinos be encouraged? |
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Author:George Molyneaux ( United Kingdom )
George Molyneaux (UK) studied History at the University of Oxford. He reached the semi-finals of the World Schools’ Debating Championships twice (representing Scotland), the octo-finals of the World Universities’ Debating Championships and the semi-finals of the European Universities’ Debating Championships. He is currenlty the Coach of the Scotland Schools Debating Team.
Created: Sunday, October 29, 2006
Last Modified:
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Gambling is the betting of money on an outcome that is wholly or largely random. It includes things like bingo, roulette, raffles, lotteries, scratch-cards and slot machines. Some definitions of gambling would not include activities like betting on horse racing – although this arguably involves a large element of knowledge and skill to predict what is likely to happen. Card games are a grey area. Some card games, such as poker, have a considerable element of skill. It is therefore arguable that they should not be considered gambling. Other card games are largely a matter of luck. The precise legal definition of gambling varies from country to country.
Most countries regulate gambling. For example, it is often necessary to have a licence to run a lottery or a casino. There is also usually a minimum age for gambling. Gambling is illegal in some jurisdictions, including several states of the USA and many Islamic countries. In contrast, some governments try to use gambling as a force for good. Many states run lotteries – the profits are used to pay for public services. In the USA Native American nations control their own affairs and often profit by being able to run casinos on reservations, attracting gamblers from surrounding states where gambling is banned. At the time of writing (August 2006), the British government was liberalizing gambling laws. It hopes to use casinos to create employment in disadvantaged areas.
The arguments presented below mostly concern gambling in general. However, much current controversy relates to internet gambling. This form of gambling is covered in the last argument on either side. Several states of the USA have banned internet gambling. However, it has proved very hard to stop people using websites based in other countries. |
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| To gamble is irrational and reckless. There may be the possibility of winning a big prize, but the overwhelming likelihood is that a gambler will lose money. Casinos calculate their odds so that they will always make a profit. Gambling attracts people with little money who are desperate for a windfall. These are the people who can least afford to lose money. They should be protected from the temptation to gamble. Gambling should be banned, or at least very tightly controlled. |
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Gamblers know that, overall, they are likely to lose money. They gamble because it is a leisure pursuit that they enjoy. There is nothing irrational about this. Some people get an enjoyable thrill from the remote possibility that they might win a huge prize – even if they lose, they enjoy the experience. Some forms of gambling are highly sociable. For example, many people go to bingo halls to spend time with friends. Society accepts people spending (“wasting”?) money on other leisure pursuits with no material benefits (e.g. cinema tickets, watching sport) – gambling should not be any different. It is patronising to suggest that people, including those on low incomes, should not be able to choose how they spend their money. |
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| Gambling is addictive. Many people end up gambling to try to recover money they have already lost. This is known as ‘chasing losses’. It results in people staking more and more money, most of which they will lose. Gambling addicts often turn to crime to feed their addiction. Addiction is highly damaging to families, since gamblers will spend whatever money they can on gambling. People start to gamble without thinking that they will become addicted. Once they become addicted, it is too late. As with drugs, it is better to ban gambling to stop people getting started in the first place. |
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Unlike drugs, gambling is not physically addictive. It is only psychologically addictive in some people. Only a small percentage of gamblers have an addiction. Many more get enjoyment from gambling without problems – why should these people suffer because a few others get addicted? The risks of gambling addiction are well known. People can make a conscious choice to start gambling, and are aware of the risks of addiction. Treatment programmes can address the problems of those who are addicted. |
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| Gambling promotes unhealthy values. It makes people concentrate of winning money. This implies that they should value material goods above other things like friendships and families. It also sends out the message that success should not necessarily be the result of merit and effort. Instead, governments should promote values like thrift, hard work and self-reliance. |
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There is no evidence that gambling makes people not care about others. People do not gamble because they expect to win lots of money. Most gamble as a form of entertainment. There are many areas of life where success is not the result of merit or hard work. Someone born to well-off parents may get many advantages in life without merit or hard work. There are therefore no grounds for thinking that gambling promotes undesirable values. |
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| Casinos are often associated with criminal activity. Drug dealers and prostitutes operate near casinos – they know that there are a large number of potential clients in the area. Casinos can therefore be devastating to neighbourhoods. |
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People committing crimes should be prosecuted. The existence of criminals does not make nearby businesses (including casinos) immoral. It is perverse to punish people who just want to gamble (and not take drugs or use prostitutes) by taking away their chance to do so. |
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| The economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated. They generally only create low-paid jobs for local people – the casino companies usually bring in managers from elsewhere. There is still considerable unemployment and poverty in places like Atlantic City. The problems associated with casinos (e.g. crime, gambling addiction) outweigh the economic benefits. In any case, an immoral industry is not justified by the fact that it creates employment. Jobs could be created through many other industries that cause fewer moral and practical problems (e.g. theme parks). |
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Far from harming neighbourhoods, casinos can revive areas. They create jobs and cause money to be spent on transport infrastructure. The jobs are not just in the casino itself. More jobs are created in hotels and other parts of the tourism industry. Casinos have helped to regenerate many places that previously had considerable poverty and social problems (e.g. Atlantic City in New Jersey). |
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| It is immoral for the state or charities to raise money by exploiting people’s stupidity and greed. Taxing gambling is a regressive tax (this means that the poor pay a greater proportion of their income in tax than the rich). This is because poor people are more likely to gamble. Regressive taxation is deeply unfair. |
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Gambling is often used to raise money for the state or good causes. Many governments tax gambling. Some even run their own lotteries. Charities use prize draws to raise funds. |
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Internet gambling is especially dangerous. Someone can become addicted very easily – they don’t even need to leave their home. This also means that they are gambling in private. They may therefore be less reluctant to wager very large sums they cannot afford. It is very hard to know the identity of an online gambler – there have been several cases of people (including children) using stolen credit cards to gamble online.
Online gambling may be hard to control but that is not a reason to try – making an activity more difficult to pursue will still reduce the number of those who take it up. It is not impossible to put effective deterrent steps in place, such as the recent US ban on American banks processing credit card payments to internet gambling sites. |
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It is impossible to stop online gambling. When it has been banned, people have just used sites based in other countries. It is better to legalize and regulate online gambling than to drive gamblers to poorly-regulated foreign operators. Regulation can reduce the problems identified by the proposition. For example, online gamblers can be required to give personal details when registering (e.g. occupation, income). If this information suggests they are spending more than they can afford, the company can block their credit card. In any case, most online gamblers do not get addicted. Why should they be denied an activity that they enjoy? |
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| | This House would ban all forms of gambling
This House would ban online gambling
This House believes that casinos create more problems than they solve
This House believes that governments should not profit from gambling
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pokemon1010
Member
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 09:34 am
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Hmm...Insteresting view...But too little evidence. |
kangfischer
Member
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Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:45 am
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I would like to see a bit more evidence for quick use |
Debatabase
Member
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 12:08 pm
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Author: George Molyneaux (United Kingdom)
George Molyneaux (UK) studied History at the University of Oxford. He reached the semi-finals of the World Schools’ Debating Championships twice (representing Scotland), the octo-finals of the World Universities’ Debating Championships and the semi-finals of the European Universities’ Debating Championships. He is currenlty the Coach of the Scotland Schools Debating Team.
Created: Sunday, October 29, 2006
View Topic
Gambling is the betting of money on an outcome that is wholly or largely random. It includes things like bingo, roulette, raffles, lotteries, scratch-cards and slot machines. Some definitions of gambling would not include activities like betting on horse racing – although this arguably involves a large element of knowledge and skill to predict what is likely to happen. Card games are a grey area. Some card games, such as poker, have a considerable element of skill. It is therefore arguable that they should not be considered gambling. Other card games are largely a matter of luck. The precise legal definition of gambling varies from country to country.
Most countries regulate gambling. For example, it is often necessary to have a licence to run a lottery or a casino. There is also usually a minimum age for gambling. Gambling is illegal in some jurisdictions, including several states of the USA and many Islamic countries. In contrast, some governments try to use gambling as a force for good. Many states run lotteries – the profits are used to pay for public services. In the USA Native American nations control their own affairs and often profit by being able to run casinos on reservations, attracting gamblers from surrounding states where gambling is banned. At the time of writing (August 2006), the British government was liberalizing gambling laws. It hopes to use casinos to create employment in disadvantaged areas.
The arguments presented below mostly concern gambling in general. However, much current controversy relates to internet gambling. This form of gambling is covered in the last argument on either side. Several states of the USA have banned internet gambling. However, it has proved very hard to stop people using websites based in other countries. |
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